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March 18, 2013

2013 Races in South Wales (Triathlon/Duathlon/Running/Walking!)

Updated 24/3/2013

I'm going to try and keep a running list of what I want to enter, what I have entered, and what look amazing but will have to wait untill 2014...

Pontypool 10k - February 24, 2013
It's a 10k and it's in less than 4 weeks. It would be silly for me to enter. Then again, it might be good to time a 10k and then I can have something to look forward to with the half. The Duathalons have 10k runs as part of them and I really never run more than 5k ... so something to think about maybe?

This isn't a race but it looks quite fun! I would probably chose the Gold route - A circular walk of 20 miles around the Blorange, Skirrid, and Sugar Loaf. 5000 feet of climbing in the gorgeous countryside of Abergavenny! There's also a Platinum route, but it's 17 miles, more challenging, requires navigation, and it's not Circular. I dislike things that are not circular!

I'm getting more interested in duathalon. Mostly because there are more of them, and I can't really do open-water swims until I get a wetsuit, and I can't get a wetsuit until I come to terms with the fact that OMG being athletic is SO EXPENSIVE. But this Duathalon looks nice - it happens in Newport and consists of a 4.2km run, 16.35km bike ride, and 4.2 km run.

The Vale is Lovely and this is a fairly short race: 3.5mi run / 16mi bike / 1.6mi run. It's a local Race so not too far to travel, and would be nice to see how I do if I really push myself - I could aim for a good and/or competitive time instead of just a "finishing" time.

Entry Fee: £35.35 (£29.95 if I join WelshTri)Amman Valley Sprint Tri - April 21, 2013
Camarthen is a bit far - but a Sprint Tri seems a good reason to travel! 400m Swim, 16km bike, 5km run. Sounds like a good morning!

50, 75, or 100 miles. The 100 mile route looks truly stunning, and truly leg destroying. I would be inclined to chalenge myself for the 75, and both an challenge and incline it would be at 6758 feet of climbing. There's 1000 feet of climbing between the 37th and 41st mile. EEK

I did this race last year - Cardiff Tri is the group I infrequently train with. When I join I'll have to marshall one event - not sure if I'll marshall this or the Cosmeston open water tri. Still good to keep in mind, though soon I won't be novice anymore and I won't be able to do novice triathlons (at least I think that's how it works). 400m swim / 16.1km bike / 4.6km run. It would be great to compare my times this year to last on the same course, see if there's any improvement (or transitions that take less than 3 minutes)

This would be very ambitious for me - it's a middle distance tri, meaning 1/2 mile of swimming, 28 mile bike ride, and 7 miles of running. The running I already know will be terrible, but the bike ride has the following description: 28 miles in total. Most is on minor hilly roads with 2 major climbs and some lesser ones totalling about 3000ft of climb. The fact that they used "hilly" and "major" and "lesser" all to describe 28 miles of cycling sounds... terrible. I may hold out a bit on entering, this really would be a challenge.

Entry Fee: £37 (£32 if I join WelshTri)

Sadly I'm away with work that weekend - hope it goes well for all who entered!

The City of Bath Triathlon is both an Olympic Distance (1 mile swim, 25 mile bike, 6 mile run) and a Sprint tri (750 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run). Both are pool based, and it's one of the only pool based Olympic distance triathlons I've seen close to Cardiff. Also, Bath is an amazing city. I would be inclined to enter, though looking at the results it's highly probably I'll come in last. I'm a little worried about the swim, and may have to trial myself to do a gym-based triathlon before I commit to entering. There are only 100 people in the race, and the standard looks quite high. Bath would be a great place to do a tri, so I'll definitely think about it!

This was the first Triathalon I ever entered, I did the novice route in 2012. I will definately be entering the full distance route this year. The event is a 600 metre swim, 24k mountain bike, 6k run. Last year I was mostly new to mountain biking, this year I'll get some practice in to really rip it up. Afan is one of the most beautiful areas in South Wales and it's an awesome place to run a Tri.

It's an open water triathlon, it's supposed to be awesome. No list of South Wales Triathlons would be complete without mentioning it. Sprint distance (750 m swim, 24 km bike, 5km run). If I ever become a real triathlete who does real swimming (open water) this would be a great race for me to do.

Andy did this one last year, and it nearly killed him. Then again, he did the on-road duathlon, so maybe I would find it easier off-road. HAHA that's a lie. Forrest of dean is lovely though, and the mountain biking is all very do-able, and I can do the same Duathlon the day after on-road for only an additional £15. A good way to shock me into Half Marathon shape?

A 10k would be a good way to prepare for a 1/2 marathon! But also, if I hate doing a 10k, I am not going to want to do a half marathon. And I've already entered the half. But I think a 10k would be fine, and this race always looks fun enough and with a good atmosphere. I may wait and see if anyone's giving away their place right before the event instead of pre-registering...

Running is not really my thing, but I think a load of my friends are planning to sign up, and it would probably do me good to have a proper running race to look forward to. I'm not sure what my goal time would be - somewhere less than 3 hours? I'll have to do some proper training I think....

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